Academy aims to groom future teachers for GRPS
A partnership between Grand Rapids Public Schools and Ferris State University, the Academy of Teaching and Learning aims to motivate students to go into teaching...
‘She’s one of us’
Her mother said she sees her daughter retaining information and communicating more and more. She wants to do things herself. ‘She wants to be little Miss Independent’...
Walking through the ‘door of opportunity’
Wyoming high school students Mounahinde (Terry) Almame and Rohim Mohammed visited Lisa Monroe and Jodi VanDam’s fifth-grade class to talk about their experiences as refugees...
From making meals to selling Christmas cards, students learn job skills
Now in its 15th year, Region 1 Transition Services provides continuing education opportunities for adults, ages 18-26, with special needs in northern Kent County. The program’s goal is to help students gain employment, become involved in their local communities and lead independent lives...
Two classes, two ways to learn about refugees
Students at Cherry Creek Elementary and Lowell Middle School are giving thought to what it means to have to leave home and make a new one, thousands of miles away...
The Definition of Insanity
Among the more overused and mis-attributed quotes in all of journalism is the old saw that proclaims the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Unfortunately, that describes our national obsession over standardized test scores...
Walkathon delivers peer connections, outside experiences
Last year’s event raised $2,100, which paid for a monthly student experience at Pine Grove, ranging from a mobile zoo exhibit to the antics of local author and puppeteer Kevin Kammeraad...
Understanding what the fuss is all about: A primer on the M-STEP
The new school year coincides with the release of the last school year’s state assessment data (2017-18) — the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP)...
The NAEP and M-Step: Where Hope Goes to Die
All across the state this past week were news headlines pronouncing the failure of Michigan’s students and schools on standardized tests. Instead, the headlines should have pronounced the NAEP, the M-STEP and PISA as failures...
Leaders begin transition of center programs from GRPS to Kent ISD
The Grand Rapids school board voted to discontinue operating special education center programs on behalf of all 20 Kent ISD school districts, effectively turning them over to the intermediate district as of July 2019...
Coalition launches new vision for education
Business leaders, school management organizations, teacher and school staff associations and philanthropic groups are joining forces to make public education the cornerstone of Michigan’s continued economic recovery...
Dear Secretary DeVos: don’t overlook needs of the whole student
In a time of dramatic change and challenge in public schools, teachers increasingly have made their voices heard regarding policies of the U.S. Department of Education under Secretary Betsy DeVos...
Giving back as others gave to them
Three sisters, refugees from Rwanda, devote their Monday evenings to volunteering at the Learning Café, an education center in Grand Rapids that serves refugee children...
From conflict to commencement: African refugee finds success through perseverance
In the fall, Jeanette Mukampabuka will begin studying for an engineering or nursing degree at Western Michigan University and wants to eventually pursue her master’s degree...
Students help refugee peers adjust to life, schools in the U.S.
Students from a handful of area high schools are making an impact at two West Michigan organizations tasked with helping refugee students and their families succeed...
Michigan Teacher of the Year tells DeVos his concerns about school choice
East Kentwood’s Luke Wilcox and other State Teachers of the Year had the opportunity to meet with U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and shared their concerns about her policies on vouchers and charters...
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